Scaderstone Pit (The Darkeningstone Series Book 3) (16 page)

I shrugged. “That doesn’t mean it isn’t out there somewhere.”

“But the French authorities are normally very good at that sort of thing. Their Ministry of Culture records everything. They’re very keen on protecting ancient sites and promoting their history. It seems very strange for something so large, something so significant, to be missing entirely.”

I suddenly realised exactly what she was getting at. “So they must have hidden this site deliberately.”

Cally smiled. “I think so, yes. And it fits in with what we’ve been saying. They don’t want anyone to find it.” She gave me a meaningful look, and there was a glimmer of excitement in her eye.

“You know where it is,” I said. “You’ve figured it out.”

“Not exactly, but I’ve narrowed it down to a few possibilities. Look on the computer—I made a list. It’s on the desktop.”

I pressed the touchpad to wake the laptop, then I minimised the screenshot. Beneath it, on the desktop, was a document called
possible stone sites
. When I opened it, it was clear that Cally had been thorough. There was a list of seven locations, each one with a set of co-ordinates. “Are these in any particular order? Is one more likely than another?”

“No,” Cally said. “That’s just the order I found them.” She took a deep breath. “I think we ought to borrow a car and go out to each one, see for ourselves.”

I nodded slowly. “I’d know it straight away,” I said. “And the timing feels right. It’s like it’s all starting to fit together. If I could just see the place for myself, maybe everything will make a bit more sense.”

“I feel the same,” Cally said. She looked forward, peering past the driver to see through the windscreen. “I think we’re almost there. Let’s get this filming out of the way, and then we’ll see what we can come up with.”

***

The museum at Grand-Pressigny was not what I expected. It was part crumbling ruin and part sleek modernity: a sophisticated modern building grafted onto ancient stone remains.

We climbed out of the car and stretched our limbs while the driver busied himself unpacking aluminium cases from the boot.

Cally called to him. “Gerard, nous allons vous rencontrer à l’intérieur.”

The driver acknowledged her with an upward tilt of his chin, but said nothing.

To me, Cally said, “Come on, I’ve told him we’ll meet him inside.”

“Yeah, I got that,” I said. “He doesn’t look happy about it though.”

“Don’t mind Gerard,” Cally said. “He’s a big fan of Imogen. He doesn’t like to be away from her for long. I think he fancies his chances.”

I frowned. “Imogen?”

“You must know Imogen. The presenter. The star of the show. You must’ve seen her on TV.”

I shook my head. “I saw a bit of the show, but I didn’t really notice her. I just saw you. I knew it was you, the moment I saw you.”

She grinned. “That’s sweet of you to say, but there’s no need. I was hired for my expertise, and I’m more than happy with that.”

“I wasn’t trying to flatter you. I was just being honest.”

Cally looked at me for a moment. “Sorry. I’ve been surrounded by TV people for too long—they spend all day massaging your ego, then they bitch about you the moment your back is turned. It drives me crazy.”

We shared a smile. “Come on,” Cally said. “We’d better get inside or Gerard will be champing at the bit.”

We strolled toward the museum and were met at the entrance by a tall, middle-aged woman wearing a silky, pale-blue blouse over slim designer jeans. Her red hair was tied back in a tight ponytail that emphasised her high cheekbones, and her eyes were the deep green of the forest in summer.

“Bonjour,” she called out as she strode across the museum’s entrance hall. “I am Doctor Monnier, but please, call me Audrey.”

Cally took the opportunity to show off her perfect French and I smiled and nodded as I tried to follow her rapid stream of words. She said something about the journey then, judging from the Cally’s gestures, the rest was about how wonderful the museum was.

Audrey looked suitably impressed, and as the two women talked I went over to hold the door open for Gerard, who was struggling in with more aluminium cases than he could comfortably manage. He gave me a curt nod then put the cases on the floor and stalked back to the car for another load.

“You’re welcome,” I muttered. I let the door swing shut and went to join Cally and Audrey.

The two women watched me as I approached, and I did my best to maintain eye contact while still putting one foot in front of the other.

“Good morning, Jake,” Audrey said. “You are very welcome. We are just about to go through to our little lab. Please, follow me.”

“Sure,” I said. “Great.”

Audrey smiled then turned and led the way toward a set of glass doors on one side of the entrance hall. She extended her name badge on its lanyard and held it to an access panel on the right hand side of the door. The door unlocked with a metallic click, and Audrey ushered us inside.

Cally and I stepped forward into a long, brightly lit corridor. The walls were painted a stark sterile white, and the floor tiles were pale grey. There were several doors along each side of the corridor, and every door had an access panel on the right hand side.

Audrey breezed past Cally and me, and we followed in her wake. “You must stay with me at all times,” she said. “This is a secure area. None of the doors will open without a pass.”

“Oh, what about Gerard?” Cally asked.

“Do not worry,” Audrey called over her shoulder without slowing down. “I’ve asked someone to bring him along in a moment.” At the end of the corridor, Audrey halted outside the door on the right, and unlocked it with her name badge as before. She stepped inside and held the door open for us. “Please,” she said, indicating a rack of white lab coats hanging just inside the door, “you must wear one of these while inside the lab. And gloves also.” She plucked a pair of disposable gloves from a wall mounted dispenser and put them on.

Cally and I put on our lab coats and buttoned them up, then we pulled on the plastic gloves. Without being asked, Cally produced a hairband from her pocket and tied her hair back. She looked very comfortable in her white coat, but I couldn’t help feeling faintly ridiculous.

Audrey looked us up and down, inspecting us carefully. “Very good. Now, please wait by the bench here, and I will retrieve the artefacts for you.”

“Wonderful,” Cally said. “I can’t wait to see them.”

Audrey’s demure smile crinkled the corners of her eyes. She nodded to Cally then headed to another door at the back of the room. This door had an electronic combination lock, and Audrey tapped in the numbers rapidly then let herself in, closing the door firmly behind her.

I looked around the lab. Every surface gleamed, and every shelf was free from clutter. “This is all very impressive,” I said. “Is this usual for a museum—to have a place like this?”

“Yes,” Cally said. “Most museums do a lot of very important conservation work. Though the labs aren’t always so modern, and a lot of them are not very well equipped. You know how it is—government cutbacks.”

The door behind us opened, and we turned to see a middle aged man holding the door open so that Gerard could come bumbling in with his aluminium cases. For a couple of minutes we watched him setting up the camera, but then the door at the other end of the lab opened, and Audrey came back in carrying a wide plastic box. “Voila,” she said as she picked her way carefully between the benches. “Now you will see for yourselves.” She set the box down on the bench in front of us then removed its lid. Inside, there were two layers of white foam packaging, and as Audrey gently peeled them away, Cally and I leaned forward, craning our necks to see what lay within.

“As you see, there are 14 amulets, though there may have been more. We believe that they were bound together with a leather strap, although very few fragments of the strap survived.” She beamed at us. “They are unique, yes?”

“They’re wonderful,” Cally said. “I’ve never seen such a beautifully preserved collection, and all in one find.” She looked at Audrey. “You must be thrilled.”

Audrey shrugged modestly, but she was obviously very pleased with Cally’s remarks. I studied the collection of stone discs, trying to see what they were so excited about. It was clear that the small pieces of flat stone were very old: their edges had crumbled or been worn away by the passing of time. But I struggled to see their importance. They were chipped, dull and dusty, although each one had the remains of a few crude lines carved into its surface. But if these stones had been lying on a beach, or on the ground, I wouldn’t have looked at them twice.

I ran my eyes over them again, trying to find something of interest. And then I realised something. “You said there were fourteen,” I said. “There are only thirteen here.”

Cally gave me a sharp look.

“Sorry,” I said. “But you did say fourteen, didn’t you?”

Audrey raised her eyebrows. “Quite so.” She reached into the box and lifted the stones out on a plastic tray, revealing yet another layer of white foam packaging. “And here we have the pride of our collection.” She lifted the layer of protective packaging, and there was another piece of foam beneath, but this one had a round hole cut in its centre. From where I was standing, I couldn’t see what lay at the bottom of it. But Cally gasped.

“I don’t believe it,” she said. “It’s just like it. Almost identical.”

Audrey frowned. “I do not understand. You have seen something similar?”

Cally stared at her. “Not just similar, but almost completely identical.”

“Where?” Audrey demanded. “Is it in a museum? Where was it found? Here in France?”

Cally shook her head. “I don’t know where it was found. It was in a private collection, belonging to my…belonging to one of the lecturers at Exeter University. Doctor Seaton.”

Audrey began talking rapidly in French, waving her hands excitedly, and Cally seemed just as animated, answering Audrey’s questions in a bewildering combination of French and English. Even Gerard was watching them, his lip curled in disdain. He pulled out his phone and checked the screen then shook his head. “Cally,” he said, “there is no time. We must start work.”

Cally was so engrossed in her conversation she didn’t even turn to acknowledge him. “Just a minute, Gerard. I need to talk to Audrey. I need to prepare.”

Gerard stared at the back of Cally’s head for a moment until he realised I was watching him. He turned his gaze on me, and his stare was a cold challenge, an unspoken threat.

I didn’t look away. Gerard was a bully, a pompous stuffed shirt, and I’d had my fill of his type. So I held my head high, squared my shoulders, and looked him in the eye.

Gerard blinked slowly then dismissed me with an amused smile and went back to his camera.

I took a breath and stood closer to Cally. “What’s so exciting? Can I have a look?” But Cally held up her hand to fend off my questions. “For god’s sake,” I muttered then I reached out and gently pulled the plastic box a little closer. And when I saw what they were looking at, a knot of raw fear drew itself tight in my gut.

“Bloody hell!” I hissed. “Bloody hell!”

Cally and Audrey stopped talking and stared at me in stunned silence.

“It’s
his
,” I said. “It has to be. It belongs to the old man.”

“Jake,” Cally said calmly, “you’d better sit down. You don’t look well.”

“No!” I said, raising my voice. But I gripped the edge of the bench with both hands, squeezing it until my knuckles were white. “It’s
his
,” I said again, and there was nothing else to say. Because there, lying nestled in the white foam, was a perfect flat disc of pure black stone. Its surface still bore the delicate tracery of curving lines that I’d last seen when it had been thrust in front of my eyes and waved from side to side. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind. This amulet had belonged to the old man who’d sent me back to my own time. It had belonged to Morven.

Chapter 21

1919

TREVOR PACED BACK AND FORTH
across the entrance to the proposed quarry site, swinging his arms to ward off the early morning chill. It was the first day of the survey, and so far, Trevor had been the only one to arrive. He stopped walking and checked his watch. There was still a good quarter of an hour before the men were expected. “Come on, come on,” he muttered.

He peered along the track for the hundredth time, but there was no sign of anyone approaching, so he thrust his hands deep into his pockets and stood still, looking up to the sky. It was a fine, crisp winter morning with no clouds in sight.
A good day
, he thought.
A good day to be starting something new
.

He took a deep breath and exhaled noisily.
I’ll show them
, he thought. Matthews and Grigson may have removed his authority by effectively running the survey between them, but he was still going to do his damnedest to execute the plan to the best of his ability. He’d had a little time to lick his wounds and he was determined to make Matthews eat his words. There’d be no way the old man could go on ignoring him.
You can’t keep a good man down
, he told himself. He just had to make sure everything ran like clockwork: on time and under budget.